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How many cafés, restaurants and pubs are there in Ireland? CSO business counts to 2024
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) counted 16,783 active enterprises in "Food and Beverage Service Activities (I56)" in Ireland in 2024, up from 16,580 in 2023. That is 1.2% more than a year earlier and 7.7% more than the 15,576 in 2019, by our arithmetic. The CSO tables give one count for Food and Beverage Service Activities (I56) and no café-only number. In 2024 those enterprises engaged 168,741 people, and 1,868 enterprises were born. The CSO table gives no reasons for any of the movements, so this page gives none.
How many food and drink businesses are there in Ireland?
The CSO counts 16,783 active enterprises in Food and Beverage Service Activities (I56) for 2024. The CSO tables give one count for all of I56.
The figure is for "All persons engaged size classes", so it covers businesses of every size.
Is the number of food and drink businesses in Ireland growing?
The CSO count has risen every year since 2020. It went from 15,370 in 2020 to 15,596 in 2021, 16,245 in 2022, 16,580 in 2023 and 16,783 in 2024.
That is 1.2% more in 2024 than in 2023, and 7.7% more than in 2019. Both percentages are ours. The count dipped from 15,576 in 2019 to 15,370 in 2020.
How many people work in food and drink businesses in Ireland?
The CSO says 168,741 persons were engaged in active enterprises in I56 in 2024. That is up 2.6% on the 164,506 in 2023, by our arithmetic. The CSO also gives 161,129 employees for 2024.
Dividing persons engaged by enterprises gives about 10 people per business on average in 2024 (168,741 over 16,783). That is ours, and an average hides a wide spread: the CSO table splits the enterprises by size, and the CSO puts 12,641 of the 16,783 in the size class labelled "Under 10" persons engaged.
How many food and drink businesses open and close each year in Ireland?
The CSO records 1,868 enterprise births in I56 in 2024, against 1,925 in 2023 and 1,795 in 2022. Its final enterprise deaths are 1,662 in 2019, 1,615 in 2020, 1,236 in 2021 and 1,586 in 2022.
For 2023 the CSO has only a preliminary deaths figure, labelled "Preliminary Enterprise Deaths": 1,836. There is no 2024 deaths figure yet. The table below has every year.
Does the CSO count cafés separately from restaurants and pubs?
Not in these tables. BRA31 and BRA33 give one count for all of I56 and no separate count for cafés, restaurants or pubs. So there is no café-only number here, and I have not made one up.
These tables give no finer split by type of business. For how much trade the sector does, month by month, see our page on the CSO services index. For pay, see our page on hospitality jobs and earnings.
Where do these numbers come from, and how often are they updated?
They come from CSO tables BRA31, Business Demography NACE Rev 2, and BRA33, Enterprise Deaths NACE Rev 2. Both were updated on 6 October 2026, and I read them on 18 October 2026.
The CSO notes on the table say: "From 2022 non market-producers are excluded from Business Demography. This methodology was applied to 2021 in a revision." It also says the data contains revisions for 2019 and 2020. So compare years as the CSO publishes them, with that change of method in mind.
You can download the figures as a CSV. If you cite it: Cupán Studio, from CSO tables BRA31 and BRA33, read 18 October 2026.
| Year | Active enterprises | Persons engaged | Enterprise births | Enterprise deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 15,576 | 151,175 | 1,695 | 1,662 |
| 2020 | 15,370 | 112,118 | 1,476 | 1,615 |
| 2021 | 15,596 | 117,385 | 467 | 1,236 |
| 2022 | 16,245 | 156,286 | 1,795 | 1,586 |
| 2023 | 16,580 | 164,506 | 1,925 | 1,836 (preliminary) |
| 2024 | 16,783 | 168,741 | 1,868 | not yet published |
Sources
- Central Statistics Office, BRA31 Business Demography NACE Rev 2, updated 6 October 2026, read 18 October 2026.
- Central Statistics Office, BRA33 Enterprise Deaths NACE Rev 2, updated 6 October 2026, read 18 October 2026.
Figures from CSO tables BRA31 and BRA33, read 18 October 2026; percentages and averages are ours. A summary of published statistics. Cupán Studio builds websites for cafés in Ireland.
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